CZ (Cubic Zirconia) IS *NOT* A MAN-MADE DIAMOND

I stumbled upon yet another etsy seller who is offering "man-made" diamonds.  The rings are pretty, nothing special at ALL, and you can buy them wholesale in a number of places online.  And by "number of places" I mean literally thousands of online sites.

These are NOT diamonds in any way.  Diamonds are made out of pure carbon.  These are simple CZ (zirconium dioxide) rings set in sterling, and sometimes gold (they have little solitaires in gold for about $400---WAY too expensive).  Their description says that the stones used are "Man-made" and specifically say in the description:

"Just like natural diamonds, simulated and lab created diamonds come in a wide assortment of grades and quality..."

I think that lumping together "simulated and lab created diamonds" is their way of not being TOO fraudulent, in case they're caught misrepresenting their items.  (I've caught them---can't you??)

Except they ARE misrepresenting---downright LYING.  There is NO SUCH STONE with a "Mohs hardness of 9.5" with the exception of one:  moissanite.  They are pretending that this thing they have is actually Moissanite without saying so---because the makers of Moissanite would shut them DOWN.  Charles & Colvard does not mess around!  (They manufacture Moissanite, which is a lab created diamond SIMULANT, harder than CZ, at Mohs 9.5.  Diamond is Mohs 10.  CZ is Mohs 8.5.)

This etsy seller has CZ solitaires set in sterling for $79---some more, some less money.

It's worth about $29 retail, purchased for under $10 wholesale.  Stroll into Kohl's or Target, look at their CZ rings, and they're exactly the same.  

Their feedback is amazing which shows that there are a LOT  of suckers out there!!  Yes, CZ sparkles like crazy and look just like diamonds.  CZ is the finest diamond simulant!  But SIMULANT meaning it looks like a diamond.  It's not a diamond, not made out of carbon.  It's a CZ!!  

Man-made diamonds are VERY expensive, thousands of dollars a carat, about the price of a mined diamond.  Anything else you see that is being sold for anywhere under $1000 for a man-made diamond ring (which would ONLY be set in solid gold, by the way) is a CZ.  Nothing wrong with that!  But thinking it's something better than a CZ is very sad.

And stones coming from "Russia" and cut in "Antwerp" are just marketing buzzwords, people.  "Creative" marketing!  CZ are produced in the US as well as all around the world (such as China) but Russia?  That's an old creative marketing trick from the 1990s.  NOTHING is special about any particular "Russian" CZ.  Their stones aren't cut in Antwerp.  You can buy their mass-produced rings all over the interwebs!!!  (Just google "wholesale CZ sterling rings" and see for yourself!)

The latest CZ marketing trick though is "signity CZ" mostly over on ebay.  Don't be fooled by that one either!

Anyway, that same CZ seller on etsy is also offering the glass "aquamarines" and other "gemstones" that you can find on ebay, etc. that I've written about before.  This etsy seller is calling it "manmade aquamarine" but there is no such thing----they don't grow real aquamarines in a lab, anywhere.   IT'S FUSED GLASS.  Just because they call it an aquamarine does not make it one!!  It's NOT.  Their settings are the same as all the other ones out of Thailand on ebay. 

Also, their mystic "topaz" is not topaz--it's coated CZ.  Again, from Thailand.  Will scratch off the surface.

I hate that etsy allows fraud like this, but there's nothing anyone can do except maybe talk about it here, with an attempt to get a message out to consumers---DO YOUR RESEARCH.  Look up "man made diamond" online and see what that is.  It's not difficult!!  Google is fast and easy!   Don't take my word for it----look it up yourself!  Use "google images" to search that same ring you're considering, and you'll see it EVERYWHERE for much less, which is a more honest price and description of what you're getting. 

Not a man-made diamond.  NOT EVER.  Except if you buy it from diamondnexus.com or gemesis.com.  Look it up!  Educate yourself!  Knowledge really IS power, and stop being taken advantage of.  I think this quote from Gemesis Diamond's website says it all:

All lab-created diamonds are man-made diamonds. Why?  Because they are grown by man in a laboratory setting. But (and it’s a big “but”) because some marketers use the term “man-made diamonds” to (inaccurately) describe simulants (CZ, etc.), all “man-made diamonds” are not lab-created diamonds.